SALVAGE SHOPPING

One of the many things I've always loved is SALVAGE SHOPS.  I love what creative people are doing with salvage pieces and how they're being repurposed into gorgeous objects.  It just thrills me to see wonderful "Objects d' Arte" come alive from things that were torn down and ripped apart.  I have always felt that no matter what your design in your home - traditional, transitional, contemporary or just plain eclectic - each home needs a sense of history.  Something that tells a story.

Walking into a salvage store I can feel the history, almost hear the whispers of lives lived.  It sounds romantic or dramatic but just holding an item makes me wonder who owned this before...what was their life like....what did it look like in their home....and how lucky that this piece of history still remains long after the owners have gone.

I LOVE these balusters.  Decades of old paint just chipping away.  I can imagine a new coffee table with these gorgeous legs restored to their original lustre.  Or perhaps just cleaning them up a little, making sure the paint that is chipping is sealed and creating a beautiful shabby chic table.

Can't you just "See" the history??

This is one of my favorite shots!  I love the textures in this picture.  The old baskets.  Were they used to carry fresh harvested wheat?  The old chippy windows.  What views did they have?  Who gazed out of them waiting for a loved one to return?

Doors.  I love them.  I am ALWAYS drawn to them.  The hardware is almost always hand forged and withstands the test of time.  Did the family have horse and buggies that would drive through these gates?  What was their story?  Who came and went?  Look at this old fashioned cash register.  I love how simple life was and how thrilled they must have been when they invented this for merchants.  I think about our computer systems.  How far we've come, yet how many times we need to resort to the good old fashioned way of doing things when technology fails us!!

Did I mention that I love doors?  These doors (I bought 2) came from McDill Airforce Base in Tampa.  They were the doors that may have heard all the dreams and fears of Amerian airmen when they crossed the threshold of their colonels doors to accept their deployment.

I bought these and brought them home to my store to give them a new life.  They were gorgeous,solid wood doors that we painted ASCP Paris Grey with Old White, distressed them to embrace their age.

Waxing the doors a final time.  I had great plans for these doors. They came with us to the Orlando Expo where they were appreciated and adored.  We added gorgeous sconces and made them panels to hang.  Now they grace the walls of my showroom waiting for their perfect final home!

VOILA!  A gorgeous piece of history!!

Don't forget about our HOLIDAY CONTEST & GIVE AWAY.  It's all about creating new from old.  Finding pieces to create into gorgeous Christmas decor.  I'm hoping for some great inspiration!!!

AND

In case you didn't read the earlier post....we have a new

ANNIE SLOAN CHALK PAINT GIVEAWAY brewing!!